If you’re looking at Columbus, the areas that tend to perform best for that strategy are near major employment hubs and medical centers—think around Ohio State University, the campus area (carefully block by block), Grandview, Short North, and pockets near the big hospital systems and downtown office corridors.

I’m talking about things like:•site conditions and drainage•access, utilities, and neighborhood context •deferred maintenance that may not appear in photos•unique quirks that can affect rehab risk or resaleThe local market here has a lot of homes in the low‑to‑mid $200k range, and properties move at a pretty steady pace, so early insight can make a real difference in decisions.My goal isn’t to replace inspections or pretend I’m an expert in every discipline.

Of course, foundations may be reinforced concrete, or CMU Blocks on concrete footings; or bricks, posts, or timbers with no, or minimal footings, directly on dirt.

Unfortunately access to that information also afforded them information to all of her client files which included...all of their personal information.

Louis and other secondary areas, local insight carries significant weight because pricing trends can vary block by block. 

The biggest issue that Canadian and non-local investors run into is not having a thorough understanding of our neighborhoods and blocks.

In my head I just figured they're all using the same sources, but it absolutely makes sense that there would be variances.I have always used zillow for this and that way the tenant pays for it, but I never actually considered the quality of it.One issue is that some municipalities (like buffalo) block eviction records from becoming public, another win for terrible tenants.If anyone has an informed recco for credit/background checks I'd love to check it out.

From what I’ve gathered so far, the areas can vary quite a bit from block to block, which has made me want to dig deeper into where it makes the most sense to invest.I’ve saved up enough to comfortably purchase a more affordable rental property in the northwest part of Milwaukee, where the cash flow looks promising.

You should do research and consider the sub market and even the blocks you’re looking at.

Having MLS access should give you an advantage!